“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.

Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing [email protected] and including their first name and city of residence.

Today’s question asks: Are there private academies in North Korea?

Jin — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until she defected in 2014 — writes about citizens’ passion for education and how this has driven a boom for private tutoring much like in South Korea, despite the